Attrition of Undergraduate Music Education Students of Color: A Collective Case Study

• In Event: AERA Graduate Student Research in Progress Roundtable Session One
  In Roundtable Session: Perspectives on Teacher Education Across Contexts (Table 11)

Abstract

"This study examined the experiences of former music education students of color who left their undergraduate programs in order to develop a more nuanced understanding of the pipeline into - or out of - the music teaching profession. Previous research in music education has examined both the collegiate experiences of students of color and student attrition generally; what is missing, however, are the perspectives of students of color who exited the pipeline and their reasons for no longer pursuing a career as a music teacher.
Multiple interviews were conducted with seven former music education students of color, each from different universities. All participants auditioned for and were accepted into collegiate music education programs; all, however, left their programs with no immediate intentions toward a career in music education.
Guided by a theoretical framework of Museus' (2014) Culturally Engaging Campus Environment, three main themes emerged: first, the collegiate experience for participants was characterized by a web of (dis)connections. Dimensions identified as central to their collegiate experience - curriculum, faculty, peers, auditions, ensembles, and institutional policies - were experienced either as a connection that strengthened their relationship to the institution or as a disconnection that weakened their relationship. Second, participants encountered financial struggles specific to the music education major in a variety of ways not covered by their financial aid. Finally, participants engaged in a process of negotiating their intersectional identities with - or against - the dominant norms of their respective institutions, which either led to a sense of inclusion and belonging - or exclusion and marginalization."

Author

• David DeAngelis, Northwestern University
  Presenting Author